Cartoon Universe
by dustybunny
Summary: Chaos, magic gemstones, a collapsing world... These are a few things Spongebob wasn't expecting when he went to find Patrick in a cave. Events lead him to finding out that he's a cartoon. But Spongebob isn't the most well-loved cartoon in the other character's minds. Can Spongebob restore order to the Cartooniverse, find Patrick, and get home in time to feed Gary?
1. DISC ONE: Beginnings

"_Let us enter your heart and dwell in your soul"_

_Dedicated to everyone who loves cartoons_

_DISC ONE START_

_Chapter 1: Beginnings_

A case could be made that today was going to be a normal day for Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star, who were planning on going jellyfishing together. But who would have known it would lead to _this_?

Right now, the two chipper sea creatures were on opposite sides, peering into a dark cave they had never seen before. How could that be? They had seen every part of Jellyfish Fields! But, out of nowhere, there was this giant cave, and both of them were unsure what to do.

"Um, Spongebob?" Patrick, Spongebob's admittedly dimwitted friend, broke the silence. "Do you think there might be something in there?"

Spongebob looked nervous and unsure. "I don't know, Patrick," he responded, squinting. No amount of squinting could change the fact that the cave was too dark to see into.

Patrick looked around, then tip-toed over to Spongebob, giving him two poke-jabs on his shoulder. This caused Spongebob to shriek.

"Goodness, Patrick! You scared the square right out of me!"

"Sorry, Spongebob," Patrick whispered. "I just wanted to know if it was ok with you if we went inside the cave."

A look of shock crossed the sea sponge's face. "Are you crazy, Patrick? Who knows what'll happen?"

Patrick appeared unimpressed by his friend's reaction. "You're no fun, Spongebob."

"It's called being careful, Patrick," Spongebob said sternly, pointing a finger at the starfish. "You should be _waaaay_ more careful when it comes to these types of things. Remember the hooks? And living like Larry?"

Patrick rolled his eyes and snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I get it." He sighed and went back to staring at the darkness.

"Anyway Patrick, I've got to get home and feed Gary. He gets really cranky when it's this late and he doesn't-"

Spongebob let out a noise of fear as he realized Patrick was rushing towards the cave.

"Patrick! Come back here!" But it was too late. His best friend had disappeared, likely into an unsafe place.

"Hang on, buddy! I'm coming!" Spongebob shouted, his voice echoing around the cave walls. He stumbled into the dark, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he would find his friend safe and sound.

* * *

><p>With each step that Spongebob took, the more frightened and alone he felt. But he had to make sure his best friend was safe. What kind of best friend would leave theirs alone with no help? Certainly no best friend Spongebob would want to have.<p>

After what felt like forever, Spongebob's head had accidentally bumped into something, with him letting out an "ouch!" before stumbling backwards, falling flat on his rear end. He rubbed his aching head, then held out his hands to determine what he bumped into.

Spongebob felt a spherical figure in the dark, with a hard metal surface. He could feel many nuts and bolts around the sphere, telling him that this must be older technology. But what was it?

"Spongebob?"

Spongebob stood frozen as he heard a familiar voice.

"Spongebob? Do you know if there's any pizza here? I'm hungry."

"Patrick? Patrick, where are you? I can't see a thi-"

Just then, a blinding light shined from the large metal sphere and illuminated the room. Spongebob shielded his eyes. He could still here Patrick calling his name.

"I don't like this place, Spongebob. I'm scared..."

Spongebob still couldn't place where his friend's voice was coming from. "It'll be fine, Patrick! Just hang on while I figure something out."

Spongebob's body froze as he felt his body being overcome with something unfamiliar. Spongebob clenched his fists as the feeling grew, as if that would stop it from spreading. A heavy gust of wind surrounded him, nearly knocking him backwards. But still he pressed on, taking heavy steps towards the glowing sphere. His sweaty palm opened and slowly reached forward to touch it, even though he feared it would burn.

Upon touching it, the wind stopped along with the immense feelings inside him. Spongebob, still confused, called for his best friend.

"Patrick! Are you here?"

No response.

Out of the corner of his eye, Spongebob noticed a faint aquamarine light. He turned towards it slowly, and found himself lost in its radiance. It was as if the light gave off feelings of comfort, as if it was telling him everything was going to be ok.

Spongebob walked towards it, and reached out to touch it, hoping that the light would guide him somehow. Touching it felt different than simply seeing it. The relaxed feeling he experienced intensified, and Spongebob now knew things would definitely be ok.

But the light grew brighter, then flickered and faded into nothing.

Without the light's comfort, Spongebob felt uneasy and scared once more. He still had no idea what was going on or what he should do.

A light breeze veiled him again, then grew to incredible speeds. Spongebob gasped as the wind threw him against the cave wall, struggling to get his feet back on the floor.

Before Spongebob could register it, the soothing aquamarine light flashed directly in front of him, growing brighter and brighter to the point where he had to close his eyes.

The wind stopped, and Spongebob fell to the floor on his knees, then bent over and landed on his face. His entire body felt weak and sluggish, and his eyelids were heavy. Before he could do anything about it, he was asleep.


	2. Discoveries

When Spongebob came to, he was no longer in the cave. He was laying in a bed, covered with too many layers of blankets.

Blinking, he peered at his surroundings. The room was decorated with posters of him and his friends, the walls a dark blue, possibly to imitate the ocean. It may have not given off the same vibe as the aquamarine light, but he still felt secure in this room.

Throwing off his blankets, he stood up and stretched. That was a mistake. His back cramped, causing Spongebob to wince. _Yowch._

The memory of the cave came back to him, including how he had lost Patrick. He remembered how he heard Patrick's voice, and how he had felt when he couldn't find him. For the first time in a while, he felt completely alone.

Brushing off the feeling of dread, he trudged towards the door in his room and opened it, hoping that wherever he was, he felt as comforted as he had in the room.

He was greeted with a loud THUD, a stumble, and a crash of various objects dropping everywhere.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry!" Spongebob said, helping the young boy that had been hit by the door. "Are you ok?"

The boy looked to be about 11, with a rather... interesting head of hair. The boy's hair resembled chocolate ice cream, the kind you get with a cone. He was wearing a red shirt with a neutron symbol on it and blue jeans. But, most noticeably, he had a large bump on his forehead. Of course, this was due to Spongebob. Scattered around the boy were various strange objects that were the boy's inventions.

"No, it's fine," the boy said, shaking his head to regain his composure. He glanced up at Spongebob, then his eyes widened in surprise.

"Leaping leptons!" the boy exclaimed, moving around to examine the sponge.

"What's wrong?" Spongebob asked, bewildered.

"Why, you're Spongebob Squarepants!" The boy shook the sponge's hand rapidly in excitement. "I'm Jimmy Neutron, boy genius. You can call me Jimmy."

Spongebob was still confused. "How do you know my name?"

"You're kidding! Spongebob, do you have any idea how well-known you are?"

Spongebob gave Jimmy a look of disbelief. "No... I can't say I do."

Jimmy shook his head. "Well, I'd be careful if I were you. Some of these characters... they're convinced you're the reason they aren't that popular."

Perplexed, Spongebob asked, "not that popular? What are you-"

Suddenly, another door swung open. Out came another boy, with buck teeth and a pink hat. The boy's mouth opened as his eyes met Spongebob's.

"So he's the new guy everyone's been talking about?" The boy piped up, his voice rather high-pitched.

Jimmy nodded. "You know who this is, right, Timmy?"

Timmy blinked in confusion.

Jimmy groaned. "You know!" He sighed. "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" He attempted to carry on a tune as he sang.

"Oooooh!" Timmy laughed a bit at his own ignorance. "Yeah, you're Spongebob Squarepants!"

Spongebob fidgeted as he spoke. "Um, can you help a guy out and tell me what's going on?"

Timmy scoffed. "Wow, maybe hanging out with Patrick has done something to you." Spongebob felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach upon hearing his name.

Jimmy gave Timmy an annoyed look and cleared his throat. "What Timmy is trying to say is that he's surprised that you don't know how famous you are. Everyone here knows who you are."

"Really?" Spongebob asked.

"Absolutely." Jimmy replied.

Questions crept up into Spongebob's mind. "So where am I?"

Timmy and Jimmy shot each other nervous glances. Jimmy cleared his throat. "Well, you're in the Cartoon Inn. It's where cartoon characters stay when they aren't in their worlds."

"Cartoon characters?" Spongebob laughed nervously. "That's... that's just silly! There's no way that I'm... a..."

Realization hit Spongebob. The kids in front of him were not sea creatures. He was not underwater. He shouldn't have been able to breathe. Yet here he was, carrying on conversation with them.

He stammered trying to respond. "Oh... Eheh..."

Timmy walked up and gave Spongebob a pat on the back. "Don't be so worried about it. It hit pretty hard for me too."

Jimmy responded immediately. "Uh, no it didn't."

Timmy scowled at Jimmy, prompting him to keep quiet.

"So what do I do now?" Spongebob asked.

Timmy chuckled. "What do you do now? Heck, you're already famous! You've got a great life! Live a little! Go hang out with some people!"

Spongebob smiled. "You're right, Timmy," he said, pointing towards the hallway. "I'll make it my duty to be friends with everyone in this inn!" With those words of self-encouragement, Spongebob bolted towards the stairs, going down to start at the first floor.

Timmy cupped a hand around his mouth to whisper to Jimmy. "Did you tell him that almost everyone here hates his guts?"

Jimmy shrugged. "He'll find out soon enough."


	3. Big Plans

It was noon in the Cartoon Inn; the sun shined brightly in the clear blue cloudless sky. Some were just waking up, others had been up for a while, and one particular character had big plans for today. He was going to befriend every single person in the building, no questions asked.

One character, however, was not in the mood for any type of socializing. He had bigger plans for the inn.

In room 1-6, the mood was tense, to say the least. Sparks flew as wires connected. Smoke came out of the little black box that the wires were attached to. Attending to the box was a short, green boy, obviously an extraterrestrial. His eyes were huge pink orbs that were intent on concentration. There could be no mistakes. The fate of his mission depended on it.

"Wrench," he ordered, holding out an arm to his left.

To his left, a small robot with big light teal eyes handed him a wrench. He giggled childishly after he had given it to him.

The alien eyed his robot suspiciously, but brushed off any feelings of doubt shortly after.

Using the wrench, he tightened a screw on the outside of the box. Nodding to himself, he connected two more wires, then closed the box. He took a step back to admire it.

"Finally," he whispered, taking in the sight of his little contraption. It looked like an ordinary black box, but oh was it not. In a stroke of genius (according to its creator), this box was designed to look as inconspicuous as possible. Inside the box was a computer chip that could be used to control any form of technology. It was still in beta stage, but with a few tweaks and improvements, it could be used for amazing things. Maybe it could even be used to control regular people. Oh, the boy could dream.

His admiration was cut short when he heard a knock on the door.

Muttering about how he wished to be left alone, the boy stomped over to the door and opened it.

"There better be a damn good reason for you to-"

"Hi! I'm Spongebob! I'm new here. Can we get to know each other?"

The green boy grimaced as he recognized the sponge. There was no denying it, this was the character that was responsible for most of the cartoons not being successful. Including his own.

"Listen, you filthy little bath supplement, I'm not interested in anything to do with you." He tried to close the door, but Spongebob jerked it back open.

"Can't we just talk it out? Come on, sponge to alien thing?"

The alien scowled. "I am NOT in the mood for annoyances, especially from the likes of YOU." He slammed the door, but Spongebob jerked his hand back in time to prevent his fingers from being smashed.

"Well... THAT could have gone better," Spongebob said, thinking of who he should talk to next. "I hope the others here aren't like that."

With hope in his heart, he knocked on the door to room 1-1 across room 1-6, silently wishing that he would be welcomed this time.


	4. Legend of the Gemstones

"How long has Spongebob been trying to talk to people?"

It was now 7:00, and the sun was melting into the horizon as Jimmy and Timmy sat outside the entrance to the inn. So far, the chipper sea sponge had little to no luck making friends. Many of the characters had opened the door, and almost immediately closed it before Spongebob had finished his introduction.

"He gave up about 5 hours ago," Jimmy replied. "I almost feel bad for the little guy."

"Yeah, I get what you're trying to say," Timmy said, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "I don't get why the others hate him so much. I mean, yeah, sometimes he's annoying, but he's a really nice guy."

Jimmy glanced at Timmy, then turned away and huddled his knees close to his body. It was getting a bit too chilly for comfort.

After a few moments of silence, Timmy leaned closer to Jimmy and whispered, "So who's gonna be the one to break the news to him?"

"Depends on what you mean. He seems to be aware that not that many people like him here. Unless you're talking about the, uh, gemstones."

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about."

Jimmy gazed at the sky as he spoke slowly. "Without the gems, there won't be an inn. There won't even be our regular worlds for us to live in."

Timmy stared at Jimmy, taking in every word.

"You know about the gems, right, Timmy?"

"Not really. I mean, I know what they are, but I can't say I know much about them."

Jimmy gave a quick glance at Timmy to make sure he was listening, then continued.

"The gemstones are important to our existence. Ever since the beginning of television, they've been around to keep our worlds intact so that we wouldn't meet each other by accident. The only way to bring our worlds together would be to find the Orb of Power. Or in your case, use magic from your Fairy God Parents.

"The Orb of Power can only be activated by a being with a pure heart. Whoever released the energy had to be just that. The Orb contains - or, in this case, contained - the nine Gemstones of Unity. If even one gemstone is missing, disaster would befall our worlds.

"The nine gemstones are as follows, listen carefully, Timmy:

"The first one is the Ruby, known as the Gemstone of Power. It offers a balance of power to the characters in each world, and also grants immense power to whoever has it. If it fell in the wrong hands... who knows what would happen.

"Second is the Amethyst, the Gemstone of Emotion. It's what gives characters personality and free will. Without it, we would be nothing but puppets for whoever tried to control us.

"Third is the Aquamarine, the Gemstone of Peace. The Aquamarine helps characters remain tranquil in stressful situations. It's more important than it sounds, trust me.

"Fourth is the Emerald, the Gemstone of Protection. It helps keep us safe from intruders who wish to cause anyone harm. Anyone who has it could be invincible when it's used right.

"Fifth, the Diamond, Gemstone of Purity. This one helps keep people like you and me on the path of good. Some aren't affected by it, but that's because the Diamond has selective powers.

"Sixth, the Pearl, the Gemstone of Love. Love is what gives some happiness. Without love, there is only hatred. Without love, there is no friendship. The Pearl is sometimes considered the most important Gemstone. If we didn't have the Pearl, we wouldn't have each other, Timmy."

Timmy's head snapped up, his eyes bewildered. "Hold on, what?!"

"I meant platonic love, Timmy. I'm not in love with you or anything like that."

Timmy laughed. "Pfft, thank goodness! That would be kind of awkward."

Jimmy nodded, continuing the story.

"The Topaz is the seventh gemstone, the Gemstone of Hope. Considered equally important to love, hope is the reason we have motivation. Without hope, we would only have despair. Despair leads to depression, depression leads to loneliness, loneliness leads to-"

"I get it, Jimmy," Timmy interrupted, slumping forward so his head would be resting against his hand. "Continue, please."

"Alright. The next two are the Sapphire and Garnet, Gemstones of Wisdom and Guidance, respectively. It shouldn't be hard to figure out the Sapphire's purpose, but the Garnet is special because nobody's quite sure what it does. Theories about its purpose are often debated, but we all agree that it must be important.

And that's all of them. Any questions?"

Jimmy glanced at Timmy and noticed his eyes were closed. After a few snaps of his fingers, Jimmy concluded that Timmy was fast asleep.

"Don't do this again, Timmy. I don't want to have to carry you to your room again." Of course, there was no response.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, although he was smiling a little. "Alright, fine. I'll carry you again." Jimmy stood up, gently picking up Timmy and positioning him so that he was slumped over his shoulder. Carefully, he opened the door to the inn and walked inside, closing it quietly behind him.


	5. A Friend

After the sun had set and the moon had risen, Spongebob was in his room, 2-1, sitting alone on his bed. One could easily tell he was deeply upset by his interactions with the others. Looking around his room at the posters on the wall of him and his friends, he felt even worse than he had in the cave. This must be what it felt to be completely alone.

Spongebob walked over to his window and gazed at the moon. The sky wasn't the same as Bikini Bottom's. There were no flowers up there, and the atmosphere of friendliness was not present in the inn like it had been at home. Spongebob felt tears well up in his eyes. What was Patrick doing? Was he safe? It didn't seem like it from what he remembered.

There was a knock at the door. Wiping away his tears, he walked to his door and opened it slowly, peeking to see who it was. Standing there was Jimmy.

"Uh, hey, Spongebob. It's late and I was wondering if you were asleep or not. Can I come in?"

Spongebob was a bit surprised at the boy's hospitality, but that didn't make him feel better. "Sure, come in..." He said unenthusiastically.

Jimmy walked in and sat down on Spongebob's bed. He examined the room with interest.

"Wow, they did a good job with designing your room," Jimmy said, which made Spongebob feel a little better.

Spongebob's brief happiness quickly faltered. "Yeah, but it's not the same as home..."

Jimmy patted the spot next to him, prompting Spongebob to sit next to him. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Jimmy started speaking.

"So how was your day?" He already knew that today was bad for him, but he wasn't sure how else to start.

Spongebob sighed and stared at the floor. "Oh, it was terrible. None of these people like me. What did I ever do to them?"

Jimmy attempted words of comfort as he turned to face the sponge. "They just haven't gotten to know you is all. Wait a while and they'll come around."

Spongebob sighed again. "I don't know, Jimmy. Why are they so mad at me? Is it because I'm yellow?"

Jimmy chuckled. "I doubt that."

"Then what is it? That alien boy called me an annoyance."

"Zim? Zim's not a nice person, you shouldn't be listening to him. He's always like that."

Spongebob threw himself back on his bed to stare at the ceiling. The ceiling may have had flowers on it, but it didn't have the same feeling as Bikini Bottom's flowers.

"But what about the others? One girl even threw a churro at my head before shutting the door."

"A churro?" Jimmy realized who that was upon asking the question. "Oh, Frida. That explains it."

Jimmy also laid on his back to stare at the ceiling with Spongebob. More silence filled the room, which was broken by Jimmy. "Me and Timmy were talking outside not that long ago."

"What were you talking about?"

Jimmy struggled in finding the right words to say. "We were just talking about something... personal."

Spongebob nodded in understanding.

"When did you and Timmy become friends?" He asked.

Jimmy thought back to the day he met Timmy. "Oh, he just used his Fairy God Parents to get to my world. I even went to his."

"Fairy... God Parents?"

"Oh, yeah. Timmy didn't tell you. He has Fairy God Parents. He's a pretty lucky kid, I guess you could say. If you don't count the fact that he's bad at school and has a nasty babysitter.

"Anyway, we didn't really like each other at first, but we used our abilities to save each other's worlds. That lead us to trust each other, so we became friends."

"So you weren't always friends?"

Jimmy sat upright. "That's right. Friendship isn't always immediate. You've got to work on it. Besides, you don't need to be friends with absolutely everyone."

Spongebob sighed. "The problem is that I'm friends with NOBODY. Nobody here likes me."

"That's not entirely true," Jimmy said, taking Spongebob's hand to calm him down. "You're not alone. You've got me and Timmy."

Spongebob turned to get a good look at Jimmy. He didn't look like he was lying.

"You mean it?"

Jimmy nodded. "Of course I do." He glanced at his watch. "Boy, it sure is late. I better get to bed soon. We'll talk in the morning. Good night, Spongebob."

For the first time since noon, Spongebob smiled. "You too, buddy."

They shared a hug, followed by Jimmy giving him three friendly pats on the back. With another goodbye, Jimmy left the room.

Spongebob, worn out from the day, yawned. It would be a good idea for him to go to bed as well. Slipping out of his pants, he jumped into bed wearing nothing but his underwear. Covering himself in a few blankets, he closed his eyes and was fast asleep.

Perhaps he would have a better day tomorrow.


End file.
